Global Terrorism and Media Reportage of Boko Haram Cases in the 21st Century

Abstract

Media plays a pivotal role in influencing public opinion, shaping policy responses, and mobilizing local and international support. Arguably, terrorism is not a new phenomenon; it has long been a method of violent action by organizations and individuals attempting to achieve political goals. Indeed, terrorism is not an end but rather a modus operandi.  Thus, all terrorists share one common denominator: they “live” in the future and are convinced that they will defeat their enemies and achieve their political goals. With this new trend of terrorism in the 21st century, it is imperative to expand the fraction of literature in the area so as to come up with findings that will address the phenomenon. Thus, in order to achieve the objective of the study, secondary data was used as a methodological approach. To locate the study within the context of theoretical framework, Frustration Aggression Theory was considered. Based on the findings, the study discovered that weak democracy, inefficient rule of law, bad governance, the backing of illegitimate regimes, high/rising distributive inequality are among the root causes that led to the emergence of Boko Haram. The study concluded that the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings and the destruction of parts of the Pentagon building on September 11th, forced the international community and especially the American people and US administration to acknowledge the imminent threat of terrorism as well as effects on public insecurity, effects on livelihood and effects on human rights are among the consequences of Boko Haram in the 21st century. The study recommends that forth coming researchers in the area should adopt other methods aside secondary data to expand the fraction of literature in the area.  Thus, other methods like survey, in-depth interview among others should be adopted by subsequent researchers so as to bridge the gap in the methodology.